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Faithful Followers

Thursday, November 27, 2008

It's great how families come together and express their gratitude on Thanksgiving Day. But what about the other 364 days of the year? Is our food that much better on the fourth Thursday in November? Are our homes warmer? Our clothes prettier? Our health better? Our jobs more wonderful? OK, well maybe the food's better, but really, we have a million things to be thankful for every single day. Things we take for granted every day.

It can really change your perspective on things if, instead of complaining about a situation, you can flip it around and find something to be thankful for. For example: When the kids dump the last of the milk all over the kitchen table, soaking everything on the table and the floor beneath it, instead of being angry and frustrated, be thankful that you now have an excuse to just throw out that stack of papers you've been meaning to go through. You can't really read them now that they're soaked in milk. And now you have a good reason to clean your floor. And let's not forget about the fact that you now have to go to the grocery store to get more milk and grocery shopping almost always give you a good story to blog later.

Wouldn't it be great if we could always step back and look at those frustrating situations in a positive light? I promise we'd all be much happier people if we did. Give it a try the next time something happens that makes you want to scream. Take a minute, take a breath, and flip it around. See the positive in it.

And here, in no particular order, is a thankful list compiled by the Meehan kids...

the earthGodfoodfamily

pizzahousecarweekends off schooli just want a pink house and a pink, pink, pink carelectricitythank you mama

You, well your blog was a big part of what started me blogging. Blogging has really helped me make that perspective flip in my life, three year old burns a box of toys in the back yard...grab the camera for a Blog bonanza. So I guess I'm saying THANKS Dawn for what you do,thanks for sharing your life, your children, your humor, your weaknesses and your strengths. Thanks for connecting the hearts of stay-at-home Moms everywhere.

We are starting a new thing this year. We have a bucket and strips of paper. All throughout the year when we think of something or have something we are thankful for we are going to write it on a slip of paper and put it in the bucket. Next Thanksgiving we are going to go through the bucket and read the papers, then we are going to turn those papers into a paper chain to hang on the christmas tree. Happy Holidays!

We really do need to be thankful every day for the little things like pizza and our pink purses! Thank you for sharing your families list today, and your experiences and thoughts every day!

I agree with Boy Mom, that blogging daily really does help you look at life a little differently! I have a photo blog, and am not only trying to write, but also photograph something that on that given day has a new or special meaning.

I am thankful for the internet (when used for good!), it brings people together from near and far, and although we may never know them, we each have the ability to touch someones life each and every day!

So I guess this means I should be thankful that my husband got up at 5 am to stand in line in the pouring rain at Home Depot to get me a 7 1/2 pre lit Christmas tree (white lights) but came home with multi colored lights instead????Yeah...I hate multi colored lights...I mean, what's up with the pink light they put in there??

I am trying really, REALLY hard to be thankful for that...Although, I am thankful to have a husband to do that for me, and our two young boys!

Happy Thanksgiving to you Dawn and your family. :) That list by your kids is so cute. I love the 'I have a pink purse' and 'a real baby' ones but especially the 'i just want a pink house and a pink, pink, pink car'. So do I! :-P

I agree, I posted about this on my blog. It went a little something like this: When I get angry for my livingroom being demolished AGAIN, dishes piled in the kitchen sink and my husband waking me up with his leg twitching I try to thank God for:

Children to demolish my livingroom, the food we had to eat from those dishes and a loving man to share my life with.

Once again, thank you, Dawn! You reminded me that although I am running on less than 3 hours' sleep, I am indeed thankful for the beautiful, brand new daughter who is stealing my time... and my heart =)